Bigger Yamaha Nouvo

[ozzydom]

How gratifying to know that at least one member is able to determine which motorcycle colour schemes are Gay, and which are Straight. In gender-ambigous Thailand, that must be a real gift.

Definition of gay....

In earlier usage, the word meant "carefree", "happy", or "bright and showy",

[Richard-BKK]

Then it is Correct....the new Nouvo is surely bright and showy

[GlutinousMaximus]

Result: 42-45.000 and u can have fast Nouvo of your favourite color and can save more than 15.000 Baht!! (cost of new one is not less than 58-60K). So why not??

and drive slowly!!

I've just ordered the new one with alloy wheels. Cost = 55,700. The lowest I've seen was 55,500. The spoke version goes for 53,000.

That's not much more than the mag wheel version of the Air Blade or Nouvo.

Apparently the alloy wheels sport tubeless tires - (to be confirmed). There's also improvements in the front brake and suspension and being water-cooled it seems like good value for money.

Nice one tropo - we're all looking forward to the detailed ride report you will no doubt be preparing once you've taken delivery

[tropo]

Nice one tropo - we're all looking forward to the detailed ride report you will no doubt be preparing once you've taken delivery

Sure, with a bit of luck I'll be picking one up this weekend. I've ordered the alloy wheel version, that's why it's taking some time.

You can expect a preliminary report here soon.

[tropo]

Nice one tropo - we're all looking forward to the detailed ride report you will no doubt be preparing once you've taken delivery

Sure, with a bit of luck I'll be picking one up this weekend. I've ordered the alloy wheel version, that's why it's taking some time.

You can expect a preliminary report here soon.

False alarm. There's still no alloy wheel versions in sight and it could be another week or so before I hop on one for the first time.

For anyone interested, there's quite a few spoked versions around the shops right now.

[Richard-BKK]

What I understand, is there is no spoked version of the Yamaha Nouvo Elegance 135cc?

[tropo]

What I understand, is there is no spoked version of the Yamaha Nouvo Elegance 135cc?

There's plenty of spoked versions around. It's the alloy version I'm waiting for.

[tropo]

I don't see this new model rushing out the door. So far after 2 weeks in the shops I've only seen one on the road. Apparently the alloy version is still weeks away.

[jackcorbett]

I don't see this new model rushing out the door. So far after 2 weeks in the shops I've only seen one on the road. Apparently the alloy version is still weeks away.

I am really looking forward to a test drive report.

For those who are interested, one of my pals and I just took two Thai girls to Ko Larn Island yesterday. We rented two Honda Air Blades for 250 baht each for the day from a place I used to rent Nouvos from. I am a fan of both machines, having bought a Nouvo two years ago, then after renting an Air Blade in Krabi I felt it might be a notch better. Anyway, for what it's worth, my buddy, Ross, who's finally moved here is about to buy his first bike here in Pattaya. He's rented Nouvos extensively but he's also rented an Air Blade and he prefers the smoother ride and statelier handling of the Nouvo over the quicker steering Air Blade.

On the island driving the Air Blade was quite nice. But one thing both Ross and I have noticed about the Air Blades and that is, it is much more difficult to drive them no hands than it is driving the Nouvos. So after a few hours driving all over Ko Larn Island with my date on the back, and now that I'm back on my Nouvo again, I've been paying close attention to that and in the past day I've been often taking my hands off the bars. Even went no hands around a slow sleeper driving to Jomtien today. When it comes to handling the Nouvo is a very finely tuned instrument while driving in the kinds of conditions it was designed to excell at.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I've also recently driven the Suzuki, Hayate. It seemed identical to the Nouvo in terms of tire size, style, length of wheel base and so on and although it drove very well, it seemed just a little bit off in comparison to the Nouvo. So although I think Yamaha has some pretty worthy competition with the Air Blade being a particularly compelling competitor (with its better brakes, smoother sounding engine (it's liquid cooled)) I find that when it comes to the handling Yamaha's really got it down.

Edited February 26, 2008 by jackcorbett

[ozzydom]

LOOK no hands,,LOOK no teeth.

[Pikey]

I test rode and subsequently bought the 135 Nuovo today.With alloy wheels here in Chiang Mai it was listed at 59,800 THB and I got it for 57,500 with all the promotional crap (nylon jacket, lid, watch e.t.c). I pick it up tomorrow. The wife has a 3 month old Airblade which I like to whizz around locally on and it was the convenience of using that which made me want to get one myself. The test ride (only a km or so and in traffic) had me feeling that it was significantly quicker off the mark than the Airblade. I have a Suzuki Hayate 125 available to me as well so could even compare that one too...

I'll post pics and an opinion once I've racked up a few km.

Cheers,

Pikey.

[MaiChai]

Drove alongside one today in Ladprao, BKK. The first thing I noticed was the much enlarged transmission and change of rear lights. Other than that, looks pretty much the same.

[tropo]

Drove alongside one today in Ladprao, BKK. The first thing I noticed was the much enlarged transmission and change of rear lights. Other than that, looks pretty much the same.

I'm sorry to disappoint everyone, but I won't be giving the first test report on the Nouvo Elegance. After waiting quite a while for the alloy version to turn up I decided to buy a near new Air Blade instead.

I've ridden the old Nouvos for over a year, and now almost a year on the Air Blade. I came to like the refinements on the Air Blade and speed wasn't really a consideration for me because for a shopping-type scooter they're both fast enough.

Having said that, my choice for a new bike came down to the Nouvo Elegance, or an Air Blade. I just couldn't get used to the look of the Elegance....the more I looked at it, the less I liked it. In contrast the red/black Air Blade I bought is very appealing. Sure, looks aren't everything, but I didn't like the idea of buying a brand new bike that didn't visually appeal to me.

Another consideration for me was resale value. I'm buying to save renting, and buying a near new bike for 10k under the new price made sense because if I sell it again within a year I won't lose much, whereas if I buy brand new I'll probably drop 10k straight out of the shop.

I'll let the new Nouvo go for a year or so and re-evaluate the second model. I have no doubt it will ride very well and perhaps they'll improve the look.

Edited February 26, 2008 by tropo

[Pikey]

Picked mine up this afternoon and have only put 35km on it so far but for what they’re worth, first observations are:

Physically a little bigger than the Airblade – seat and handlebars seem a bit higher.

Definitely faster - I'm running in and 90kmh comes up relatively quickly whereas the AB is wheezing by then (I weigh 82kg).

The Airblade has more of a "magic carpet" ride. The Nouvo has harder suspension

which makes it feel more sporty and better handling, especially as it has 16" tyres as opposed to the 14" on the AB. I find the AB more sensitive to road irregularities such as painted lines e.t.c.

Admittedly, I was riding into a headwind today, but the Yam seems to push more wind onto the riders shoulders and head than the Airblade.

Airblade stops quicker - had a look and the AB has a twin piston front caliper and the Yam has a single. No "park brake" on the Yam rear brake lever. Rear drum on both bikes.

Yam can fit 8 big Leos under the seat and has a bag hook on the steering head.

No sidestand cutout on the Yam (good/bad - up to you ). Need to pull a brake lever to start either bike.

Fuel tank/cap still under the seat on the Yam so you have to get off at the petrol station.

Jury still out on the styling - I was going to wait until Big H introduced a 125 injection Airblade as I really like it's looks, but emotions got the better of me ( I couldn't bloody wait and had cash burning a hole in my pocket!). I think they both look OK for what they are, with the Airblade just getting the nod on looks but the power of the Yam swung it for me. Here's a couple of (crappy) pics so you can see some of the physical differences when they're lined up together.

Cheers,

Pikey.

[tropo]

The Airblade has more of a "magic carpet" ride. The Nouvo has harder suspension

which makes it feel more sporty and better handling, especially as it has 16" tyres as opposed to the 14" on the AB. I find the AB more sensitive to road irregularities such as painted lines e.t.c.

Did you check the tyre pressures on your new bike? The bike shops here usually pump them up to ridiculously high pressures.

The front should be about 29/30 psi (cold) and the back 32/33 on most models. If hot add 10%. High pressures can really make the ride rough.

Edited February 27, 2008 by tropo

[Richard-BKK]

Finally somebody who can give a serious reason to buy a new motorcycle, so a Yamaha Nouvo can hold 8 big Leo bottles, under the seat do you know how much a Honda Airblade can hold?

Edited February 28, 2008 by Richard-BKK

[Pikey]

Richard, The Airblade as the box is nowhere near as deep but is longer. I think the max would be 4 including lying one down in the shallow bit but I think the seat would hit them and I'd cry if I broke one (Leo, not the seat!). Also, the Yam has a shopping hook to hold more bottles = 1 trip to the local shop and a very mao Pikey

Tropo, the tyre pressures were OK - I think the AB is smoother because it has fatter tyres which provide a little bit of extra bump absorption and the Yam just has stiffer suspension - not uncomfortable, just noticeable.

Cheers,

Pikey.

Edited February 28, 2008 by Pikey

[tropo]

Tropo, the tyre pressures were OK - I think the AB is smoother because it has fatter tyres which provide a little bit of extra bump absorption and the Yam just has stiffer suspension - not uncomfortable, just noticeable.

I just mentioned it as a possible cause. I bought a new Nouvo in the Philippines last year. The ride was incredibly rough, so I bought a pressure guage and discovered they had pumped the tyres up to around 80 psi...they didn't even have a pressure guage at the Yamaha shop...or at the local service stations.

I had the same problem with rentals here. I had to teach the motorcycle rental guys about correct tyre pressures and they ended up buying a pressure guage. They couldn't believe how low the tyre pressures had to be. Perhaps they like to keep the pressures high to avoid soft tyres.

The back tyre on the Air Blade I just bought was about double the recommended pressure.

Edited February 28, 2008 by tropo

[dave_boo]

Tropo, the tyre pressures were OK - I think the AB is smoother because it has fatter tyres which provide a little bit of extra bump absorption and the Yam just has stiffer suspension - not uncomfortable, just noticeable.

I just mentioned it as a possible cause. I bought a new Nouvo in the Philippines last year. The ride was incredibly rough, so I bought a pressure guage and discovered they had pumped the tyres up to around 80 psi...they didn't even have a pressure guage at the Yamaha shop...or at the local service stations.

I had the same problem with rentals here. I had to teach the motorcycle rental guys about correct tyre pressures and they ended up buying a pressure guage. They couldn't believe how low the tyre pressures had to be. Perhaps they like to keep the pressures high to avoid soft tyres.

The back tyre on the Air Blade I just bought was about double the recommended pressure.

Yeah, they're terribly bad about that here. I would estimate they had about 70+ PSI in my CBR 150R's tires. I let out some and rode around looking for a tire gauge (BigC Nakhon Sawan has them!), and even then I was still at 50 PSI front and 40 rear. The handling was absolutely atrocious at those specs, and it makes me wonder if that's not a contributing reason that so many motorcycle accidents happen. I haven't really seen a non-drunk Thai lose control, but having harder tires would seem to affect braking ability, as well as handling. Perhaps if the shops kept the tires at the proper pressure, there would be fewer such accidents. But than again, maybe the boy-wonders would grow even bigger "hairy stinking beads" due to the new traction they found.

[Pikey]

Agree about the local Thai mechanics & tyre pressures and yep, could be a contributor to accidents. I am a partner in a rental shop and occassionally double-check the mechanics work. Now they know I do this, the pressures on our bikes are about right. The weird thing I've noticed over the year or so I've had rent bikes is that tubed tyres loose pressure very quickly here. I don't know the reason - crap rubber for inner tubes (most likely) or something to do with the high ambient temperature? Whatever, if a bike with tubed tyres stands for a week or more, it's lost maybe 8 - 10 psi. The other main thing we find is that if bikes are out for a while, the customer sometimes gets the chain adjusted and they invariably come back taught as a tightrope!

I've a few more KM on the Yam and am really starting to like it. The missus has ridden it too and like most Thais, is of the opinion that "Honda is best", but had to admit that it was nice to ride. One other thing I noticed, which although it's not important for me, might be for some people (girls/wives), is that the Yam is a lot easier to hoik on the centrestand than the AB.

Cheers,

Pikey.

[dave_boo]

Agree about the local Thai mechanics & tyre pressures and yep, could be a contributor to accidents. I am a partner in a rental shop and occassionally double-check the mechanics work. Now they know I do this, the pressures on our bikes are about right. The weird thing I've noticed over the year or so I've had rent bikes is that tubed tyres loose pressure very quickly here. I don't know the reason - crap rubber for inner tubes (most likely) or something to do with the high ambient temperature? Whatever, if a bike with tubed tyres stands for a week or more, it's lost maybe 8 - 10 psi. The other main thing we find is that if bikes are out for a while, the customer sometimes gets the chain adjusted and they invariably come back taught as a tightrope!

I've a few more KM on the Yam and am really starting to like it. The missus has ridden it too and like most Thais, is of the opinion that "Honda is best", but had to admit that it was nice to ride. One other thing I noticed, which although it's not important for me, might be for some people (girls/wives), is that the Yam is a lot easier to hoik on the centrestand than the AB.

Cheers,

Pikey.

It's my understanding that the rubber is slightly permeable (if that's the correct word). So it stands to reason that the thinner tubes would 'outgas' faster than the thicker non-tube tires.

[GlutinousMaximus]

Thanks for your posts on the new Nouvo Elegance Pikey - very informative. I for one would love to hear any more observations you might have as you spend more time with it.

A couple of questions:

• An earlier post in this thread suggested that the alloy wheel version might have tubeless tires - is that true?
  
• What's the engine sound like? The Honda Clicks and 115cc Nouvos etc. can sound a bit whiney like they're revving hard as they go past (which they probably are) - does the 135cc sound a bit more stately/refined?
  

[tropo]

. I don't know the reason - crap rubber for inner tubes (most likely) or something to do with the high ambient temperature? Whatever, if a bike with tubed tyres stands for a week or more, it's lost maybe 8 - 10 psi. The other main thing we find is that if bikes are out for a while, the customer sometimes gets the chain adjusted and they invariably come back taught as a tightrope!

I don't find the Nouvos or Air Blades lose tyre pressure at a faster than "normal" rates. An 8 - 10 psi loss in a week is a sure sign of a puncture, or a leak from the valve. Slow leaks can be a bitch to find even in a tub of water.

One rental guy (farang) had a theory that rental bikes lose tyre pressure quickly from constantly hitting speed bumps - hard.

[Pikey]

Thanks for your posts on the new Nouvo Elegance Pikey - very informative. I for one would love to hear any more observations you might have as you spend more time with it.

A couple of questions:

• An earlier post in this thread suggested that the alloy wheel version might have tubeless tires - is that true?
  
• What's the engine sound like? The Honda Clicks and 115cc Nouvos etc. can sound a bit whiney like they're revving hard as they go past (which they probably are) - does the 135cc sound a bit more stately/refined?
  

Hi GM, No problem to share the info. Actually, as a dyed-in-the-wool biker for all my adult life who's personally owned more than 50 bikes, if you'd have said to me 3 years ago before I moved to LOS that I would be discussing the nuances of automatic scooters, I'd have bet it all against it - funny old world eh?

Back on track - for the tubeless tyres, yes, the wheels have "suitable for tubeless tyres" stamped into them. The engine note is a bit more fruity than an Airblade or Click, which I like, although there is still a bit of a whine from the auto transmission but not too much.

The bike has what Yamaha call a "Diasil" cylinder liner so I've not paid too much attention to religiously running it in, but nor have I thrashed it out of the crate. Top whack so far (3 up) is 90+ km/h and there seems plenty more left. I was clocking the km in an attempt to work out the fuel consumption and thought it was doing really good until the missus informed me that she put 50B worth of juice in it when she borrowed it the other day. Oh well...

Tropo, I think we've got our wires crossed for the tyre pressure thing. I was referring to my previous business partnership where we had XR250s that if left standing, would leak pressure over a period of time and I'd be inclined to agree with Dave_Boo about permeable rubber tubes. My wife has had an Airblade for 3 months and has probably added air once or twice in that time. In our rent shop we have 10 Auto Scooters and they do not seep air either.

Cheers,

Pikey.

Edited March 2, 2008 by Pikey

[HDRIDER]

HI Pikey

Thinking of buying a 135cc, I have a Nouvo MX, only done 6000, is it a "big" difference in acceleration and top speed compared to the old one, the one I have will go 110km with me on, don’t need the top speed but more power to get me over the hills here in Phuket, thanks.

[Pikey]

Hi HDRider,

I've never rode an MX so I can't really compare. Also, I've only put 200km on mine and that's just been ito and from the city so on the flat. As I said before, it's not run in fully yet but once done, I'll post top whack, km/litre and how it goes up hills. Certainly off the lights, I am way in front of most things for the first 100m or so but by then I have reached my crusing speed of 80 - 90 and other young speed merchants start to catch and pass me. I hope this will change once I am able to wind it out fully.

Something I wonder if others have noticed here - if you want to test ride a scoot, there are no demo bikes. I had to buy both the Yam and my wife's Airblade without actually riding them which is something I wouldn't have done back in the UK. But oppositely, when both Triumph and Yamaha opened their big bike shops in Chiang Mai, demo bikes were available. Is it the same all over the country?

Cheers,

Pikey.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

Thanks, think it’s the same, here in Phuket, no Yamaha demo bike, can’t even rent one, to new

[GlutinousMaximus]

...Actually, as a dyed-in-the-wool biker for all my adult life who's personally owned more than 50 bikes, if you'd have said to me 3 years ago before I moved to LOS that I would be discussing the nuances of automatic scooters, I'd have bet it all against it - funny old world eh?

Pikey - yes, I see your point. Sadly, your reviews although great, are not going to make it to "Power Bike Monthly" or any such & you may not be able to post your trip reports on Adventure Rider with your head held high.

Although this thread's not quite matched the blizzard of page views and posts that is Honda Cbr150 An Owners Club, nevertheless, there is interest out there & you can perhaps think of your posts as public service broadcasting.

Hey, perhaps there's an untapped demand for a web site or magazine - "CVT Scooter Monthly for Dweebs", or "Exciting Commutes" or "Supermarket Runs - Your Ride Pics"....

[tropo]

Hi HDRider,

I've never rode an MX so I can't really compare. Also, I've only put 200km on mine and that's just been ito and from the city so on the flat. As I said before, it's not run in fully yet but once done, I'll post top whack, km/litre and how it goes up hills. Certainly off the lights, I am way in front of most things for the first 100m or so but by then I have reached my crusing speed of 80 - 90 and other young speed merchants start to catch and pass me. I hope this will change once I am able to wind it out fully.

Something I wonder if others have noticed here - if you want to test ride a scoot, there are no demo bikes. I had to buy both the Yam and my wife's Airblade without actually riding them which is something I wouldn't have done back in the UK. But oppositely, when both Triumph and Yamaha opened their big bike shops in Chiang Mai, demo bikes were available. Is it the same all over the country?

Cheers,

Pikey.

This was a major deterent for me when making my decision to buy one or not - especially when considering a brand new model with totally new features, and one that didn't look that great.

You definitely took a leap of faith. About 6 years ago I bought a brand new Honda that I absolutely hated in the Philippines. I would never have bought it if I was able to test it and I decided I would never buy a bike again without testing it first.

[LivinLOS]

Just came back from perusing the new Nouvo, our local dealer also had on the floor the new 135 Spark and the new Yammy RR1 135 cc Which at 10k less than the Nouvo is a much better buy IMHO.

Yammy RR1 135 ??

Thats new on me.. Was it a typo ?? Just did a google and didnt come up with anything either..